[No title provided]
Even after enrolling in the academy, I had no plans for anything special during the first week. Aside from the day after the entrance ceremony, we only had basic classes.
The usual subjects like language, math, science, and English were just boring as ever, but history was actually kind of fun to learn. Being a fantasy world, it was completely different from the history back home. The stories about famous historical figures were all about how they blasted invading armies with grand magic or cleaved the sea with their swords—it felt less like studying and more like listening to entertaining tales.
Of course, that was only when I was just listening. Once I started trying to memorize them, my head throbbed from mixing them up with real-world history.
Days passed without much incident, and on the way back with Dina, we ran into the cat again.
We sat side by side on the bench, petting it, when Dina suddenly made a suggestion.
"…How about we give Kitty a name?"
"A name?"
"Yeah… You said it doesn't have one set, so I thought it might be nice to give it one."
She said that, then peeked at me with an expression like Is that no good?
Just name it whatever.
It seemed to like me a bit more than her, but I wasn't its owner anyway.
"Sure, why not."
I nodded readily, and Dina beamed, starting to mull over names.
"Butterfly? Hmm… That's too common…"
"Can't we just call it Kkamang, like Senior Lukia does?"
"No way! It's a name—we have to pick a proper one!"
I gave a half-hearted "Uh… yeah…" watching her reject it outright.
It's a black cat, so Kkamang fits perfectly. Sounds cute too.
I figured any old name would do, but seeing her so seriously pondering, that thought vanished before I knew it.
"Ugh… I can't think of anything good!"
She was even tugging at her hair in frustration, so I sighed and spoke up.
"How about Kkami?"
Her body froze mid-tug, and she whipped her head around, eyes sparkling as she looked at me.
"Kkami?"
"Yeah. Kkami."
It wasn't far off from my first idea of Kkamang, and it instantly brought the cat to mind. Plus, the sound was adorable—perfect!
Dina seemed to love it too. She cupped Kkami's face with both hands and called out.
"Kkami!"
Meow~.
Kkami meowed cutely, clearly pleased with the name.
It was so precious that Dina suddenly hugged the cat and started nuzzling it wildly.
Kkami, who'd been hugged by her a few times before, knew there was no escaping once caught and just meowed weakly in resignation.
A limp black cat meowing softly in her arms, and a beautiful girl smothering it with affection—what a heart-melting sight.
Catching that moment, I instinctively pulled out my phone and snapped a photo.
Click.
Dina froze at the sound and turned a puzzled gaze my way.
Oh no, did that piss her off?
I wouldn't like it if someone photographed me without asking either.
"…Kkami was just too cute."
"Ah."
It wasn't a lie. Sure, I skipped a bit, but it was because Kkami was cute.
Dina looked sheepish and mumbled.
"…Send me that photo."
"Sure."
I found the number I'd saved for her last time and sent the pic.
Come to think of it, the first message I ever sent Dina is a Kkami photo.
She checked it out, face flushing as she stared for a few seconds, then fumbled with her phone to set it as her profile picture.
Good thing she liked it. Otherwise, she might've zapped me with magic for snapping it without permission.
I stroked Kkami silently, feeling its soft fur.
But why is this cat so impeccably clean? Like someone's taking care of it.
No, even with regular grooming, it wouldn't be this pristine. It felt less like someone was maintaining it and more like it just never got dirty in the first place.
Hard to tell if the all-black fur was grubby or not, but there was no odd smell, and the texture was like soft down feathers. As if it'd never been soiled before—and never would be.
But the questions faded quickly.
First off, this was a world with magic, so someone could've been using spells to clean it daily. With so many magic users in Star City, it was plenty plausible.
Second, Kkami was cute and soft. Wasn't that enough?
If the cat's cute, that's all that matters.
And for a stray, it was affectionate and stayed clean—super hygienic too.
…It is a cat, right?
Fantasy world and all, maybe it was something cat-like. But it didn't seem dangerous…
Nah, it's fine. It's cute.
How could something this cute be dangerous?
Of course, Dina sitting right next to me was the exception. She was the cutest by far, but what was inside was something else entirely.
If what Senior Lukia said was true, passersby were glancing our way curiously as we petted Kkami on the bench.
…Or maybe they were just staring at Dina.
Feeling it was time to head back, I stood up, and she looked at me.
For some reason, her eyes seemed to say Already? Leaving me behind? But knowing what lurked inside, I wasn't about to cave to a mere glance.
Starting today, I need to get back to training anyway.
The entrance ceremony and the next day had been more intense than usual at the academy, so it hadn't mattered much, but yesterday and today were different. They'd only done lectures the first week to help us get our bearings in sprawling Star City!
Sparring started next week, so I planned to hit the training grounds for some practice today.
"Alright, I'm heading out first."
"W-Wait, let's go together!"
"…To the training grounds?"
Did she even know how to swing a sword? The setting mentioned she'd learned as a kid, but that was before the protagonist of The Hero Returns possessed her.
My hunch was right—Dina let out an "Ah…"
Still, she seemed determined to follow, trailing hesitantly behind.
I shot her a you really coming? look, and she replied.
"I'll just watch a bit."
And sure enough, Kkami was draped limply over her head.
…Definitely a cat, right?
Someone watching training wasn't new—I'd dealt with that before enrollment—so I told her to do whatever.
Wonder how that person's doing.
The woman wrapped head to toe in a black artifact robe and mask. We weren't close enough for me to care about her well-being, but now that she crossed my mind, curiosity stirred.
Maybe because of Dina's looks and Kkami flopped on her head?
People on the way to the training grounds kept staring our way.
Dina, though, was too busy fiddling with the jelly pads on Kkami's paws to notice…
I don't remember any mention of Kkami in The Hero Returns.
Was it just that we never crossed paths, or was it something new not in the original story? It seemed unlikely a cat would appear just because I possessed the body, so probably the former.
Bored on the walk, I reached up and stroked Kkami's back atop Dina's head. The height difference made it easy.
Kkami purred happily at my touch, meow~, while Dina ducked her head slightly, avoiding my eyes.
Her ears were turning pink again.
Is she sick or something? Keeps blushing like that.
As I kept petting, Kkami suddenly hopped onto my shoulder.
Even while I walked, it balanced effortlessly, standing tall.
Its warm, raspy tongue licked my cheek.
Wondering why the sudden lick, I remembered my old dog back home doing the same to my hand.
Just showing affection, probably.
I let it be, and after a few more licks, Kkami climbed atop my head and flopped down.
Its paw pads dangled right in front of my eyes.
…No wonder she kept touching them.
Couldn't resist myself. I squished Kkami's paw pads just like Dina had, when suddenly she stepped right in front of me.
"…?"
Then she stood on tiptoe and started petting Kkami on my head.
Pat. Pat.
The gentle strokes transmitted through Kkami felt so intimate… almost like she was petting me.
Oh. So that's how it felt.
Guess that's why she'd averted her gaze.
Somehow, it was hard to meet her eyes while she petted Kkami on my head, so I looked away.
She showed no sign of stopping, so I bent my knees a bit to make it easier for her.
…All for Kkami, of course. For real.